OSRC

About OSRC

Behind each product there is a story. Find out how it all begun, how the project was initiated, who is involved as well as who else helped out and what does the future hold for the OSRC community.

The Idea and Who is involved

For over 5 years i have developed and maintained Open Source and Commercial projects through a company i established in 2008, rdGizmo For You LTD. Most of the time the projects that i created didn't really match my personal likes and hobbies and weren't very interesting, other times ideas i had were too complex and required too many resources to develop. The initial idea about OSRC was born while flying a Multi-Rotor platform and doing some video recordings for a personal project. I have been an RC flyer for a long time and always enjoyed a get together to fly my favorite model (Raptor 90 at the time of this article). The ability to create any device imaginable, gave me an idea about a remote control system that would surpass any already available product on the market.

With the idea in mind it became clear that my full attention shall be needed to bring the project to life and devote all my energy towards its development and growth. So i decided to finalize any outstanding projects and create a community for the future Open Source project and a site which would be able to host all its activities, archives and other resources.

In today's society where more and more electronic enthusiasts are starting to tinker with electronics, one thing always was a setback and that was the control of a robot or a custom RC model. In most cases creators would build custom devices with their own configurations in order to be able to control their creation. It was immediately clear that there must be a device that could do everything imaginable by any user and even more.

With help from Vios GmbH, a very generous and enthusiastic organization that took interest in OSRC and is based in Switzerland, the means for prototyping OSRC became available. Vios has been around for quite some time and supports the Open Source effort just as strongly as i do so it was a perfect match from the start. The RC as well as Open Source communities played a very significant role in bringing OSRC to life as well, since some ideas and suggestions derived from responses which were gathered while OSRC was being formulated.

During initial development, ideas and features gathered quickly, filling my notebook with things i my self would like to see and use. Due to my Open Source nature and the need to share my work with others as well as gain knowledge from other contributors, the entire project was decided to be as open as it possibly can, sharing the knowledge as well as opening the device to any developer for further updates and improvements that even i could not foresee. The initial prototype was developed by me, working day after day on the mechanics, schematics and many other aspects of the device. It took more than 6 months to complete the designs and initial software. After the first two prototypes were made, the final software corrections were made and the refined design of the complete system was created. Since Vios played a great role in bringing OSRC to life during its development cycle, it provided lots of help in organizing OSRC activities, consulting, implementation services as well as form future plans for the Control System and prepare OSRC for new fields of application.

Development and R&D

Following the history of the first RC system until today, many new and innovative technologies have emerged and it was only reasonable to take advantage of those ideas and integrate them into OSRC for current as well as future development. Things such as Actuated Gimbals, Cloud Communication, up to date processing power and many other solutions went into the Remote Control System. Producing a stunning result and capabilities.

Due to my previous knowledge and experience in Product and System design, complex electronic designs as well as mechanical constructions were not as difficult as finding new and surprisingly effective ways for controlling devices as well as vehicles in the modern society. Many applications that OSRC is capable of covering, came from real world requests from future users in the professional as well as hobby fields.

A good example of an application for OSRC is a Sport Event. One community member suggested that "It would be cool to be able to control a plane or a Multi-Copter by several pilots, spread over the course of a race track while handing over the vehicle from one pilot to the other, thus following the object at hand through the entire course." An application like this is only one example out of hundreds which could achieve stunning results without additional hardware or a large team.

Open Source

After almost a Year of development, debugging and sleepless nights, not once did i think of concealing or not sharing the work as well as expertise acquired. As always, i supported the Open Source effort and helped in many cases the community in various different fields and applications, just like i required help from others in my own designs. OSRC is no different from any other project when it comes to openness, giving the absolute freedom to anyone who chooses it, to create and add new features or applications for the system while achieving personal goals. During the development of many project for my self as well as others, it became clear that sharing a project with the community only benefits it and opens new ways for applying existing designs as well as software. Since i designed, manufactured as well as programmed the system, some Open Source licensing rules must be covered regarding Hardware as well as Software. The OSRC project therefor is covered by the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

I welcome you to join the OSRC community and experience all the wonders it has to offer. New features and updates are created constantly by me as well as other members of the community, building a rich set of new and innovative applications. It doesn't matter if you are a professional or a hobby flyer, OSRC will help you overcome any obstacle in your way and give you the tools that will make any mission you can think of, simple as well as fun. So stop thinking about what you can do with what you have and start thinking about what you could do if you had the OSRC Control System.

The heart of your RC setup. Superior in every way.

Thought that went into building OSRC has been an accumulation of ideas and applications wanted for a very long period of time by both professionals as well as hobby enthusiasts. With an almost every day advancement in technology it was inevitable for OSRC to be born. The OSRC team is mostly assembled from RC users who use planes, cars and other vehicles not only for enjoyment and personal pleasure but also for professional results in the video as well as Sport industries. Taking into consideration that an RC system has to be as flexible and innovative as possible, there are endless possibilities for customization, upgrades and new features with the Main Unit alone. Combined with powerful devices such as the FPVC, Sensor and other modules it is truly a marvel for any user who becomes a part of the OSRC family.

Ether you are a novice RC enthusiast or a veteran, you will be amazed by the advancements made in every feature that OSRC has to offer. Forget whatever you known so far about RC and was limited by features derived from channel count, operational frequency or plainly the price. OSRC provides most of its advanced features even with a Basic setup and takes you to a new level of control.

Techniques used in today's film, robotic and other industries so far have been an assembly of different hardware as well as software products which can make any professionals dream become a nightmare. Combining all the necessary tools for an almost endless list of applications is only one of the OSRC goals. With a responsive as well as enthusiastic team we provide fast updates and new additions as we use the system our selves. With an engineering marvel such as OSRC and a rich set of hardware capabilities, the possibilities for new applications as well as additions are limited only by the imagination of our team as well as the end user or developer. Features and benefits described below are only a small part of a very large system.

Main Advantages

01. Comfort and Reliability

Every step taken while designing OSRC was made with the comfort of the user in mind. Even details such as Grip factors, Balance criteria, Weight and others were among a very large list. Don't let the fact that OSRC is an Open Source effort fool you. We have spent countless hours thinking and rethinking existing features and improving upon them as well as inventing new ones, to suit the needs and collective ideas of the entire RC community. The internal architecture of the entire Control System has been built in such a way that every part responsible for functions such as User Interface, Switch control, PPM module interface or digitally encoded gimbals are all separately functioning without interfering with the main program cycle, speeding up the response time as well as providing a reliable functionality.

02. Modular Hardware

Compared to other RC solutions, almost all (if not all) provide features based on hardware capabilities and price of each unit. In our case on the other hand, the only limitation is the actual application you are dealing with. Starting from a Basic setup and finishing with the most advance set of upgrades we provide, most of an already staggering set of features are given. By removing the desire to produce an endless line of an almost identical products, we give an opportunity to begin with a simple setup and build upon it without the need to acquire new or in some way different alternatives.

03. Compatibility

By choosing the OSRC system, you are in no way forced to change your entire set of already acquired equipment. OSRC provides modular capabilities to integrate existing hardware such as known RC modules and RF communication techniques, giving you the ultimate control station. On the other hand, choosing dedicated OSRC modules and RF techniques you are immersed in a completely new and filled with features environment. By using our dedicated set of hardware, things such as Cloud communications, Remote model Take-Over, Co-Pilot modes and much more, gives a fresh and new approach to RC control.

04. Innovative Features

Scenarios which only seen in movies are absolutely possible with an OSRC setup. Imagine for a second that you can hand over your model to a remote pilot by doing absolutely nothing, while all the magic is happening inside OSRC. With the Live Stick response you can record as well as play back movements made by you or other RC users. Learn to fly with stick movements self correcting you while you fly and your instructor taking over at any second without cables or switches. These are only few of the things you will discover by having an OSRC System.

Key Features

Even just after the birth of the first OSRC prototype, if someone would have asked us to describe its features then we would probably have to write a book about it. Since OSRC was designed by RC flyers and enthusiasts, the features that are born every day we use the system, multiply and get better. The control system by it self is a dream come true for any developer with its almost unlimited potential. Although every single feature we give to OSRC is innovative and important, there are some that stand out from the rest and are begging to be described.

Stick Gimbals

One of the features that makes OSRC unique is its gimbals assembly. Since from day one, the idea behind OSRC was to create an advanced platform in every possible way, we have taken the time and designed a completely unique assembly for the most important part of the control.

The first thing to notice about the design is that both X and Y axises are supported by 4 steel ball bearings, suspending the entire motion in complete freedom and smooth operation. All of the moving parts are being touched by nothing but the bearings since the motion is being recorder by Optical encoders which read the position in increments less than 0.1mm.

The Optical Encoder technology we selected for the movement fits ideally the OSRC design as it in no way interferes while moving the stick in any direction, while providing accurate measurements every time. At the same time, since there is no friction or any sort of contact while moving the sticks, there is also almost no wear on the assembly and minimal chance of damage over time. The same technology is used in advanced robotic projects where every increment of motion is important for achieving a perfect result.

To achieve motion on each axis with the same effectiveness and flexibility, we use a completely new technique. Inside each axis of the assembly there are only 2 parts as thick as 1.6mm which produce a motion if tuned to the correct frequency. To understand this better imagine that there is a disk filled with electrically stimulated components which contract if a current is applied to them. Combined in a circle they produce a moving wave that pulls whatever comes in contact with it. This technique take up less than a centimeter of space and can produce as well as simulate motion like a Ratchet effect of the stick as well as Spring response without actually having any one of them installed.

To visualize the internal assembly better and understand what actually is going on inside each stick, take a look at the drawing on your left, which represents internal workings of the design. As you can see, the design is quite simple and yet very effective. Among other advantages, the fact that we minimize criteria such as weight and internal footprint, we have more space for other features of the system.

Modular Capabilities

Making a Remote Control system great is not enough. Besides the fact that there is a rich amount of already available features on board OSRC, we have gone the extra mile and made the design modular in every way possible.

First thing you will notice on the back of the device is that we created a modular environment for replacing already available RF modules from well know brands. This means that you do not need to exclusively use our RF system but adopt your existing setup and in time decide for your self if you need the extra features. Nevertheless please have in mind that using our own communication environment will provide your system with unheard before capabilities which could help you dramatically improve productivity as well as safety if you are a professional or just a hobbyist.

Another great addition to the expandability capabilities of OSRC is its modular Shoulder Switch architecture. Unlike traditional systems where a switch is represented by only one signal state even if your switch has 2 or 3 positions, we provide the ability to use all 13 signals on each shoulder in any way imaginable. This means that you not only can interface switches or buttons but also LCD displays, motors or anything else since the part of the system responsible for shoulder switches is a fully functional processor just like the heart of OSRC.

Among our rich collection of customizable Shoulder modules you will find those that provide additional Analog Pots for custom trims as well as advanced and high quality switches with position locking, larger head assemblies and unique position alternatives.

By customizing your control system you can fit your needs better as well as enable additional features of your model, that you couldn't of done otherwise without additional hardware or signal processing.

Perhaps the most stunning addition to your control system is the OSRC FPVC system. The FPVC system is a modular addition to OSRC that provides advanced functionality such as Real Time Video Preview right on the 4.8" 800 x 480px Touch Screen. Currently we provide 3 different types of this module, starting from FPVC - Plain which provides additional buttons for your system and finishing with FPVC - Advanced which has an internal processor of 1GHz and more RAM as well as Flash memory than you will ever need. The processing capabilities of the Advanced system are so great that they in some cases even surpass existing Smart-Phone systems, providing 3D acceleration for on-board RC simulations, High Definition Video playback and much much more.

FPV (First Person View) Applications

Besides a great processor, FPVC systems Basic and Advanced both provide features such as GPS navigation, GSM data transfer as well as Internal power and Wireless communication to the OSRC system it self. Meaning that you can remove the FPVC module and use it separately while flying is done by a pilot. Even greater is the fact that since OSRC uses Cloud communication techniques, adding additional modules remotely and combining their functionality simultaneously gives close to unlimited potential for any application at hand.

FPVC Basic and Advanced also provide additional Analog Thumb Sticks which can be assigned to any function just like the rest of the switches and buttons. However the main idea behind having them on-board was to be able to use Camera Gimbals and other moving parts of a model remotely. Since both FPVC systems provide an additional Video Out socket, it is possible to use the same system by more than one user when one flies the model and the other can control a camera as well as monitor a Live Video stream through Video Glasses or other imaging devices. As the name states, FPVC is named after the "First Person View Computer" definitions and its main purpose is to help a professional or a hobbyist in any capturing application required.

User Interface

A very versatile and unique User Interface has been created for OSRC. Most features and functionality inside the system simply could not be accessed through traditionally known interfaces, so we have designed an intuitive and at the same time complex system which not only allows the operator to navigate through each option quickly and effectively but also jump to any section of the interface through a set of short-cuts and custom functions.

Even on a small display that is built into OSRC, many advanced settings such as Exponential adjustments, Dual Rates, Switch Assignments and others can be accessed and changed with ease, providing an ultimate access point with not only the buttons or switches being the means of input, but also the Touch sensor which is built into the display.

Cloud Based Communication

Unlike traditional systems, OSRC uses true RF modem modules with Cloud based communications, which allow multiple devices to be connected at once as well as transmit and receive any type of data which could be GPS information, motion control or even graphical in nature. Beside the multiple connection, the cloud system allows OSRC to extend its range just by placing additional devices between each point of interest and make things like Long Range hand over possible. The same thing can go both ways, meaning that if more models fly in your area of interest, the stronger your signal will get.

This approach allow OSRC to control multiple models at a time and send information to any recipient required without the need to reset the system or reconnect to any host. The FPVC modules also communicate with OSRC through the same cloud, which means that multiple users can control multiple devices on the same model without the need of additional hardware, not associated with OSRC.

Combining the above mentioned features as well a much more, OSRC becomes limited only by the creativity and imagination of its user. A variety of combinations in features as well as modular design provide an ultimate tool for any RC enthusiast, without the hassle of unwanted and unnecessary equipment. Making all the versatile parts of the OSRC system communicate in an efficient way give absolute freedom to any operator, thus releasing any hidden potential which simply could not be unleashed with constrains from technologically inferior devices. In addition to everything else, OSRC is an Open Source device, which means that entire development communities all over the world are free to implement features that even the OSRC team could not think of, sharing them among all system owners. Join the OSRC family today and reap the benefits that the Open Source Remote Control System can give you.